Leafs, Wings & the 2013 Winter Classic: Big House, big crowd, big fun

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Before I gush over the 2013 Winter Classic – the greatest event in the history of hockey, if not mankind – let me be up front about a few things: I graduated from the University of Michigan. My first job was at the Detroit Free Press, where I covered Michigan football and then the Detroit Red Wings. Now that I'm the NHL writer for Yahoo! Sports, I still live in Ann Arbor – five miles from the Big House – and buy season tickets to Michigan games.

The truth is, I can't give you a sober analysis of this. Back in my "Animal House" days, I looked more like Bluto, but now I feel more like Flounder. Oh, boy, is this great! I'm over-the-top, unprofessionally giddy. I have been dreaming about this for a long time – Leafs vs. Wings, the Big House, a record crowd of more than 110,000 people, an unprecedented spectacle and marketing gold mine.

No, I'm not saying this was my idea. I'm saying this was obvious.

"I think that this was inevitable, once they got it going, once they established it," said Tom Anastos, the head coach of the Michigan State hockey team and former commissioner of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. "When you think of it from many perspectives – one, the size and visibility; two, the economics – it tells you it's going to happen at some point."

Loathe as I am to admit it, the whole concept of big-time outdoor hockey started at Michigan State – and I missed out on it. The Cold War was held Oct. 6, 2001, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan and Michigan State tied, 3-3, before a record crowd of 74,544. My wife got to go, but I was in western Canada with the Wings. I remember picking up the Vancouver Province and seeing a photo of Spartan Stadium spread across two tabloid pages. I was struck at what a big deal it was all the way on the other side of the continent.

Being a Michigan alum, naturally and immediately I thought if the Spartans could pull that off, the Wolverines could do it bigger and better. I thought about a college game at Michigan Stadium. I thought about an NHL game at Michigan Stadium – Leafs vs. Wings, 'Hawks vs. Wings, an Original Six matchup that would draw fans from two markets. I suggested to Wings senior vice-president Jimmy Devellano that they put a temporary rink in brand-new Ford Field – the indoor home of the Detroit Lions – and sell out a series of games.

It was just a pipe dream. But then came the Heritage Classic and the Winter Classic and other outdoor events. Anastos doesn't remember the year, but he remembers being in New York on business. He popped into the NHL offices to see commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly. He brought up the idea of an NHL-college combo at Michigan Stadium. Nothing happened.

Early in the fall of 2010, I was walking up to the Big House when I spotted Wings center Henrik Zetterberg at the corner of Stadium and Ann Arbor-Saline. He was amid a sea of fans, but no one recognized him because he was out of context, a regular guy in street clothes, wearing a Tigers cap pulled down low. He has been to about a half-dozen Michigan football games, sometimes in the stands, sometimes on the sidelines, sometimes wondering what it would be like to be the center of attention there in a Winter Classic.

"After games, you're down on the field, and you look around, and you see all the fans go crazy," Zetterberg said. "It is a pretty cool feeling. It would be awesome to have a game there."

Then came the Big Chill at the Big House on Dec. 11, 2010. Michigan beat Michigan State, 5-0, before the largest crowd ever to watch a hockey game. Michigan officials were overly enthusiastic with their initial figure of 113,411. There were a few empty seats in one upper corner of a stadium that routinely holds more than 110,000 for football. But the Guinness Book of World Records later certified the total at 104,173 – still blowing away the old world record by 26,370, a number greater than the capacity of an ordinary NHL arena.

As the fireworks shot into the night sky after the Big Chill, I stood on the field with Anastos. We talked about the idea he had pitched to the NHL once upon a time. He shrugged. He did what he could. Less than a month later, the morning after the 2011 Winter Classic in Pittsburgh, I ran into NHL chief operating officer John Collins at the airport. I bugged him about the Big House. He chuckled. He didn't need me to tell him.

And now here we are.

"It's been on the radar the whole time," Collins said Thursday. "It's one of the reasons we got Detroit in [the 2009 Winter Classic in Chicago]. We knew it would be great, and we just needed to figure out the right way to do it and the right timing. It all just came together."

This isn't perfect for everyone, even locally. Some Michigan State fans might be upset the game is on the campus of their rival university, and some die-hard Detroiters would prefer the Wings play their big game in, you know, their actual hometown – not in a college town 45 minutes west. Owner Mike Ilitch is among them. He has been a longtime booster of downtown Detroit and wanted his Wings to play in the home of his Tigers, Comerica Park.

But the compromise is that there will be a rink at Comerica Park, and it will host days of games leading up to the Winter Classic – youth games, college games, junior games, a minor-league game and an alumni game. After the Rangers-Flyers alumni game in Philadelphia last month, Mark Howe told me his dad, Gordie, might even be able to take a shift at age 84. Fingers crossed. Can you imagine what the reception would be for Mr. Hockey?

Visitors will stay at Detroit hotels. Off-ice events will be held at Detroit venues. The city will get the same sort of short-term boost it has gotten in the past from the Super Bowl, the Final Four and so on. About 150,000 to 200,000 people are expected to come downtown for the Hockeytown Winter Festival.

All of that helped persuade Ilitch to allow the main event at Michigan Stadium. But make no mistake, so did this: Officials realized the demand for tickets would be enormous. They still haven't decided on how they are going to allot them or what they are going to charge. They are considering holding a lottery, which means the league is the one that will really hit the jackpot.

"I think that was the conversation with Mr. I," said Tom Wilson, the Wings' alternate governor. "If we want this thing to be shared with as many people as possible, we have to get outside these walls – or play a triple-header."

From a larger perspective, Michigan Stadium made the most sense. It has been renovated recently and is a clean college site. Collins pointed out it is steeped in history like former Classic locales Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, but it has modern amenities. It has no advertising and lots of suites, so the NHL has no conflicts with corporate sponsors and plenty of entertainment space. It can sell, sell, sell.

The in-stadium experience should be as good as it gets. For a place that fits 110,000-plus, the Big House is relatively small. The fans pack in on metal bleachers, often sitting sideways or standing, especially when they're wearing coats. They are close to the field, and so they will be fairly close to the rink. The sightlines are much better than a baseball park.

As for television, you've got an Original Six matchup – "Hockeytown vs. the Center of the Hockey Universe," as Leafs general manager Brian Burke put it. You can involve a Canadian team in the Winter Classic for the first time, and it actually helps instead of hinders. You can capture both hardcore Canadian fans and casual American viewers because of the world-record element alone. None of the promotional material mentions Michigan Stadium. It's all about the Big House. Size matters.

What could go wrong? The weather. It's always a risk, but it's even more of a risk when you spread out the event over a number of days. Parking. It can be a pain on game day in Ann Arbor, and it might be worse with new fans who don't know the area. But that's about it.

The biggest problem really is a pleasant one. NHL execs Colin Campbell and Kris King teased Collins after the news conference Thursday, joking that they would need a fleet of Zambonis and that he would try three rinks next time. Collins joked that pretty soon the NHL would take all of its games outside.

In the eight games before the all-star break, Gagner had only one point – an assist. Then he spent five days in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with Hall, Ales Hemsky,Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Whitney. He has racked up 15 points in five games since – eight goals, seven assists.

You can see his tan on TV. You can't see his clear mind.

"I think every all-star break, if you look back at my past, has been good for me just to kind of get away from it all and kind of come back mentally fresh," Gagner said. "I think the way the last couple seasons have gone, going into the break we haven't been playing very well, and I think that wears on you as a player."

Especially as a young player. Gagner might be in his fifth NHL season, but he's only 22. He's a classic case of a high draft pick who was rushed to the NHL by a struggling team and has had to learn on the job.

The Oilers drafted Gagner sixth overall in 2007. He has never played a minute in the minors, but he has never played a minute in the playoffs, either. He has been trying to develop as a player while the Oilers have been trying to develop as a team. He admitted it has been "tough to mentally be up all the time" while the team has languished at the bottom of the standings.

No one should judge a player on his best game or his hottest streak. You have to look at his body of work. But when a 22-year-old ties a team record held by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey, it's reasonable to wonder if it showcases some skills that have been there all along, waiting to come out.

Gagner will never be a Gretzky, but he could become a solid second-line center. He has put on about 10 pounds since entering the NHL and is now listed at 5-foot-11 and 190. He's stronger and faster. He has had the chance to center Hall and Jordan Eberle on the top line lately, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, last June's No. 1 overall pick, has had shoulder problems. So far he has seized the chance to prove he can be more productive playing with more skilled linemates.

"I think if I can continue to play the same way throughout the rest of the year, I can start to show people that it wasn't just a fluke and I can play that way more consistently," Gagner said. "I'm excited for that challenge."

Gagner is in such a groove, he hasn't been affected by the recent trade chatter. Some argue that the Oilers should trade him with his value at his peak; others, like me, argue they should hold onto him as part of their young core unless they receive an offer they can't refuse. He's a pending restricted free agent.

"It's something that before the all-star break I would have worried about a little more," Gagner said. "But to be honest, now I just want to focus on the right things, and that's playing hockey."

Must have been Cabo, eh, bro?

"That's the secret," Gagner said.

Eberle has been overshadowed by Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and now even Gagner. But he ranks ninth in the NHL in scoring with 54 points, and it isn't because of a trip to Cabo.

Look at his development track, and you'll see it was a little different than the others. The Oilers drafted him 22nd overall in 2008. He spent an extra year in junior instead of jumping straight to the NHL, and he made a couple of cameos in the American Hockey League.

At 21, he's only about a year younger than Gagner, but he's in his second NHL season instead of his fifth. He had more experience before he arrived in the NHL and joined the Oilers at a time when other top youngsters were breaking in. He gained even more experience with Team Canada at the world championships last year.

"Don't forget he played one year more junior," said Oilers associate coach Ralph Krueger. "He wasn't the first overall pick, but what he did with Hockey Canada showed that there was more there than he was given credit for."

Eberle isn't large, listed at 6-foot, 185 pounds. But he's smart, creative and deceptive, and he's able to elude top defensemen. He has learned to read lanes better so his teammates can find him in more dangerous situations, and he has developed a quicker shot. The Oilers also have altered their power-play strategy this season, putting him in better position to make plays. His goal total has jumped from 18 as a rookie to 24 so far this season.

"His scoring chances have gone up dramatically," Krueger said.

So has something else.

"I feel more confident, for sure," Eberle said. "Obviously you put the puck in the net, you feel more confident."

Brian Burke has long established that he does not like to wait until the trade deadline, when he feels the market is crowded, confused and full of bad deals. He prefers to act early, when it's calmer and clearer, and he often kicks off the trading season.

But on Feb. 9, 2012, he said he wasn't close to a deal. He said he didn't mind switching off his phone during the Winter Classic news conference Thursday because he knew he wasn't going to miss any important calls.

"There's nothing materializing that we even have to talk about," Burke said. "I got what I would describe as my first legitimate trade offer 48 hours ago, and that's well after I like to do most of my work. It's not something we're going to do, but it's the first one where I had to circle the wagons with the staff and ask everyone's opinion. I'm not a deadline guy, but that may be when we have to look at this."

Many teams are in the playoff race; few are out at this point. That's not unusual for the salary-cap era. But the market seems unusually quiet. Some teams are choosing to re-sign pending unrestricted free agents; others are asking high prices for rentals. Buyers are waiting to see who falls out of the race, who becomes available and whether the prices fall before the Feb. 27 deadline.

Burke can afford to be patient and picky. The Leafs are playing well and seventh in the East. More important, they have rebuilt themselves to the point where they have long-term potential in the organization already.

"We have the second-youngest or third-youngest team in the league," Burke said. "We have depth with the [AHL] Marlies. Everything's going the right way for us. We don't have to make a statement or do something short term. That doesn't mean I won't, though. If we can make a deal that doesn't sacrifice us long term and gives us some punch from the deadline on, we're going to do it."

One thing they won't necessarily do is rent out center Mikhail Grabovski. The sides didn't agree to terms earlier this season, when his slow start coincided with the window they had set for negotiations. Now he's hot. He has clicked with linemates Nikolai Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur again. Burke said the sides have not decided whether to resume negotiations during the season, but he hasn't been afraid to keep pending unrestricted free agents in the past.

"I am not one of those guys who says I'm going to get something for someone," Burke said. "I will keep a guy and lose him in the summer because it gives me more time to sign him and I might need that player to achieve what we need to achieve. … If we don't agree to terms doesn't mean that Mikhail Grabovski's going anywhere."

TOP 6

1. Detroit Red Wings: The Wings have won 18 straight at Joe Louis Arena. They look like Olympians. "It's like playing the national team all the time," said Oilers associate coach Ralph Krueger, the former head coach of the Swiss national team.

2. Vancouver Canucks: Great news that Henrik Sedin did not suffer a fracture when he took a slapshot off his right foot. But have to admit it would have been interesting to see if Daniel could excel without his twin brother the way Henrik excelled without him two years ago. Henrik scored 10 goals in 18 games while Daniel recovered from a broken foot in 2009-10.

3. Nashville Predators: The Preds are 14-3-1 in their past 18 games. Even more impressive, they are 12-2-2 against their division rivals this season – and the Central is the toughest division in hockey.

4. New York Rangers:Henrik Lundqvist continues to build his case for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the NHL's best goaltender. He is 4-1-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average in his past five starts.

5. St. Louis Blues: Injuries are starting to take a toll up front, and the Blues play 18 of their final 30 games on the road. Not good for a team with an 9-11-3 road record.

6. Boston Bruins: A 3-0 loss to Carolina? OK, the Bruins can't beat the Hurricanes for some reason. A 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh? Happens. But a 4-1 win over Washington followed by a 6-0 loss to Buffalo? That last stinker makes the past week a little disconcerting.

BOTTOM 6

25. Buffalo Sabres: Hmm. Lindy Ruff breaks three ribs in practice, misses a game and the boys blow out the defending Stanley Cup champions?

26. Anaheim Ducks:Teemu Selanne is one goal from 656, which would tie him for 12th on the NHL's all-time list with senior vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan. Maybe a Shanaban could hold off Selanne for a few games.

27. Montreal Canadiens: Now that Travis Moen has returned from an upper-body injury, scouts will be watching closely. He could be a good rental for teams like San Jose and Detroit.

28. Carolina Hurricanes: Smart moves by GM Jim Rutherford, signing Tim Gleason to an extension and considering the same with Tuomo Ruutu. Good players are hard to replace. Why move them for a rental fee if you can keep them at a reasonable price?

29. Edmonton Oilers: Hemsky is not playing like someone who desperately wants to be rented to a contender to compete for a Cup.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets:Rick Nash is in an impossible situation. The captain can't say he's unhappy in Columbus. But if he isn't unhappy deep down, what would that say about him?

PLUS: NHL Players' Association executive director Don Fehr was at Thursday's Winter Classic news conference. He has met with Bettman since the All-Star Game, and they have taken the first baby steps toward labor negotiations. "We talked about a whole range of things, sort of from top to bottom, and how you get ready to talk," Fehr said. "It was a good meeting. Gary and I talk not all the time, but regularly, and we'll continue to do that." The players have requested financial information, and the league plans to provide some soon. But that's just a starting point. Neither side wants to discuss it. "If I'm giving them anything, I'll give it to them," Bettman said. "This isn't a subject we have any interest in discussing publicly."

MINUS: The collective bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15. After all the pomp and circumstance Thursday, how bad would it be if there was a lockout that canceled the NHL's record-breaking Winter Classic?

PLUS: I'm even more convinced the Oilers' Ryan Smythwould be a good fit as a rental for the Red Wings. One thing I failed to mention in Wednesday's column: He not only knows Wings general manager Ken Holland from Team Canada, he knows assistant GM Jim Nill from Team Canada and played for coach Mike Babcock in junior. The Wings have some level of interest, and Smyth would consider waiving his no-move clause if approached about a potential trade to a contender. The question is whether the Oilers will receive a solid offer and whether they will even approach Smyth if they do.

MINUS: Nugent-Hopkins' shoulder problems do not support criticism that the 18-year-old rookie is too small for the NHL at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds. His original injury was a fluke. He caught a rut and fell awkwardly into the boards. Though he said he suffered a new injury to the same shoulder when hit by Toronto's Mike Brown, Krueger said it was an aggravation of the old injury – in other words, an extension of the fluke. "He's in really good shape and well-conditioned and well-trained," Krueger said. "He'd been hit so often this season by 220-pound defensemen. He's playing against the best defensemen in the National Hockey League, and he never got hurt."

PLUS: Who would have thought Olli Jokinen would be a guy the Calgary Flames need to re-sign, not a guy they should deal before the deadline?

“SB XLII, I picked the Patriots – and ticked off Doug Brown's wife, the daughter of the Giants' owner. This time, I'm picking New York.”

The morning after Super Bowl XLII, I stood in a serpentine line at the Phoenix airport with some other people headed home to Detroit – Doug Brown, whom I used to cover as a Red Wings beat writer, and his wife, Maureen, a daughter of New York Giants owner Wellington Mara.

I had left the Wings’ beat for the Lions’ beat during the lockout of 2004-05. I had picked the New England Patriots to beat the Giants in the Detroit Free Press, and though I hadn't gone out on a limb – the Pats were undefeated, after all – I had been wrong.

Maureen had seen my prediction, and she enjoyed rubbing it in. Again and again. Every time we passed each other in that serpentine line.

Prospect Need to Know: Brett Murray growing for Buffalo

News

Prospect Need to Know: Brett Murray growing for Buffalo

The budding power forward is having a successful season with USHL Youngstown, with Penn State on the horizon. Learn about him and other future NHLers in our weekly wrap

The world junior camp rosters are really rolling out now and there have been some minor surprises. Sweden will not be taking a last look at 2017 draft prospects Timothy Liljegren and Erik Brannstrom on defense, while Russia is taking a pass on Columbus pick Vitalii Abramov, among others. And now we know that Nolan Patrick will not suit up for Canada, due to injury. But let's concentrate on the player around the prospect world that are having good weeks. As always, here's our wrap-up of who is making waves.

The Spotlight

Brett Murray, LW (Buffalo): We are just beginning to see what Murray is capable on the ice, but it's been a pretty good show already. The burgeoning power forward has the right frame at 6-foot-5 and 222 pounds and has put up 16 points in his first 22 USHL games with the Youngstown Phantoms. Now it's just a matter of speed for the Sabres' fourth-rounder.

“Being a bigger guy, my acceleration and quickness off the start is something I can work on," Murray said. "Always improving top speed in open-ice skating is a huge thing.”

With that foreboding frame, Murray can grow into a force once he puts it all together. The early results are encouraging and he already has championship experience from this past season, when he helped the CCHL's Carleton Place Canadians win their Jr. A title in Ontario's Ottawa region. In Youngstown, he's facing tougher competition and the stakes will rise again next year when he heads to Hockey Valley and the NCAA's Penn State Nittany Lions.

“It just seemed like the right fit," Murray said. "They have a new state-of-the-art facility and as a progression for me, just being in the gym every day with an elite strength and conditioning coach and nutritionist seemed like the best for me.”

So if everything goes according to plan, Buffalo will have a beast of a left winger once Murray is finished in the NCAA. He's already got the instincts to be a handful.

“I like to work the puck down low in the corners," he said. "Use my size and skill to create space for my linemates and myself.”

And with the World Jr. A Challenge coming up in Bonnyville, Alta., Murray is proof of what that tournament can do for a prospect that isn't necessarily on the mainstream radar. Murray played for Canada East last season and soaked in everything he could from international duty.

“I really enjoyed it," he said. "It was an excellent experience, matching myself up against top prospects from other countries and even my linemates.”

In The Pipeline

Sergei Zborovskiy, D (NY Rangers): Games don’t get much better than the seven-pointer Zborovskiy hung on poor Prince Albert in his Regina Pats’ 12-2 destruction. The big-bodied defenseman was all over the place, jumping into scoring positions and getting pucks to the net. He has also been invited to Russia’s final world junior camp.

Carter Hart, G (Philadelphia): It seems like I’m mentioning Hart a lot lately, but I can’t help it because he refuses to give up goals. Using structure and technique, the favorite heading into Canada’s WJC camp posted three straight shutouts before Medicine Hat finally dented the armor in his most recent game. Hart still got the win, though.

Guillaume Brisebois, D (Vancouver): Canada has a lot of options on the blueline, so it will be interesting to see if Brisebois can snag a spot. The Charlottetown Islanders rearguard has great size and skating ability, helping him to 17 points through 23 games. But he can also use his tools to shut players down and that might be his key to making the world juniors.

Henrik Borgstrom, C (Florida): He’s been great all year for NCAA Denver, but the announcement of Finland’s world junior roster gives us another reason to mention the speedy and talented freshman. Borgstrom has 16 points through 14 games with the Pioneers and Finland will need his offense with so many big names from last year’s squad unavailable.

Caleb Jones, D (Edmonton): Team USA named its preliminary world junior roster on Monday and it's looking like a solid crew. But who will step up on defense with so many options? Jones is one candidate, as his combination of physicality and skill make him dangerous. The Portland Winterhawks rearguard has an impressive 25 points in 28 WHL games this year.

2017 Draft Stars

Robert Thomas, C – London Knights (OHL): Thomas had one heckuva coming out party on the weekend, racking up five points for the Knights in a 6-2 win over Flint. Strong on his skates and blessed with some fantastic offensive moves, Thomas now has 30 points in 27 games on a deep team.

Owen Tippett, RW – Mississauga Steelheads (OHL): There is so much to like about Tippett’s game, from his size (6-foot-2, 204 pounds) to his skating to his shot. All of those were in full gear against Ottawa on the weekend, where Tippett popped in four points in a 6-3 victory.

Lias Andersson, C – HV 71 (SHL): One of three draft prospects to make Sweden’s final WJC camp roster, Andersson plays an excellent two-way game and already has chemistry with Carl Grundstrom and Elias Pettersson on the international stage. Back with HV 71, Andersson is one of the top-scoring junior-aged players in the SHL with eight points in 22 games.

Jayson Dobay, D – Thayer Academy Tigers (Mass. HS): An excellent skater with great offensive instincts, Dobay is a UMass commit and one to watch in the New England prep ranks this season. With six assists in his first three games for the Tigers, his campaign is off to a great start.

Jesse Bjugstad, D – Stillwater Ponies (Minn. HS): When you think of Minnesota high school defensemen, finesse and skating usually comes to mind. But Bjugstad can also play the game with an edge. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder has great NHL pedigree (dad Scott, cousin Nick) and has kicked off the season with two goals in two games.

Five reasons the Lightning should trade Ben Bishop now

News

Five reasons the Lightning should trade Ben Bishop now

It might have made sense to keep pending free agent Ben Bishop all year – if the Lightning were healthy and not in a dogfight for a playoff berth.

The Tampa Bay Lightning endured 2015-16 holding onto the year's most coveted unrestricted free agent to be. General manager Steve Yzerman weathered a storm of rumors and clutched Steven Stamkos tightly. The Bolts had a real shot to win the Stanley Cup after reaching the final the previous year, so treating Steven Stamkos like a UFA trade deadline rental made sense. Tampa Bay ended up re-signing its captain, of course, but even if that hadn't happened this past summer, retaining Stammer was the right move.

A year later, the Lightning once again hold an elite UFA to be. This time it's goaltender Ben Bishop and, once again, they're faced with the decision of whether to trade or retain their star. Only this time, dealing that star may be the smarter move.

It goes without saying that to keep Bishop all year is to risk losing him for nothing. Unlike with Stamkos last year, it's more of a guarantee than a risk with Bishop. The Lightning signed "backup" goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year, $10.5-million extension in July. Bishop should command something like Tuukka Rask or Pekka Rinne money, a seven-year deal at $7 million per. That's out of the cash-strapped Bolts' price range with restricted free agents such as Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin needing new contracts next summer. On top of that, Tampa can only protect one goaltender in the expansion draft. Bishop is as good as gone.

The fact there's pretty much no chance of bringing Bishop back is one obvious reason to consider dealing him now, but we knew that as recently as the summer. Yzerman even admitted at the draft he would have to deal a goalie. It might've still been worth retaining Bishop all season for the sake of a Stanley Cup push, but things are so much more complicated than expected for this Bolts team through early December. Additional reasons to push for a Bishop trade have piled up.

1. Injuries, obviously

The Lightning have lost center Stamkos for four to six months after he tore his meniscus in mid-November. Right winger Ryan Callahan is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Right winger Jonathan Drouin and defenseman Jason Garrison have been nicked up of late, too. This team isn't quite a walking infirmary, but the Stamkos injury is monumental, and the Bolts need all the healthy bodies they can get. That's because…

2. The Lightning are mired in an (unexpected) playoff dogfight

We at THN picked the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup. Through Monday's games they sit ninth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the last wild-card spot. Every team behind Tampa has games in hand. The Bolts have played as many games as any team in the East. We can blame the Stamkos injury, but that doesn't make it any less true that this team is suddenly no lock to reach the Big Dance, and scoring goals, Stamkos' specialty, isn't this team's weakness. The Lightning rank 16th in the NHL in goals against per game at 2.63. That's down from 2.41 (fifth) last season. They sit 13th in 5-on-5 Corsi Against per 60 at 54.44, down from 51.92 (sixth) last year. Tampa has regressed defensively, allowing more shot attempts. This team has needs to address on defense. And guess where the Bolts' surplus of talent lies?

3. Andrei Vasilevskiy is ready for No. 1 duty

Tampa has two high-end, starting-caliber goaltenders. And we know Vasilevskiy, 22, is the future. He's been one of the game's top netminding prospects since even before Yzerman and Co. drafted him in 2012. Vasilevskiy has a sparking 6-2-1 record with a 2.24 goals-against average, a .930 save percentage and two shutouts, and that stat line is no fluke. He's merely doing what he was always projected to do. So why not hand him the reins and use Bishop on the trade market to plug another hole?

4. The Lightning can still win this thing

I never would've supported the idea of dealing Bishop mid-season even a month ago, but so much has changed. This team needs help. It's also very much worth saving. The Lightning remain as talent-rich as any team in hockey, so they should continue to treat themselves as contenders, especially if Stamkos can return in time for the post-season. We've learned in this peak-parity era any team can win the Cup as long as that team gets in. That's where Yzerman has a bit of work to do. Having an elite goaltending tandem is great, but it's a luxury for a team in need of a top-four defenseman and perhaps another power forward who can play in the top six. This season isn't worth giving up on. The Bolts should chase a championship. At first, keeping Bishop looked like the best way to do so. Now the opposite is true.

5. Ben Bishop still has peak value

Bishop hasn't been his Vezina Trophy finalist self early in 2016-17, with a pedestrian .910 SP in 18 appearances, but that small sample size won't torpedo his trade value. Any suitors out there know who he is: an upper-echelon starting goalie. Bishop, however, seems to break down physically at some point almost every season. The big fella has become a yearly injury risk at 30. There's always a chance he gets hurt before Yzerman strikes a deal, so the time to act is now. Is there a market yet? It's tough to say. We won't see true contending teams looking for a big-splash rental just yet, but we may have a few also-rans needing immediate help to climb back into the race. The team repeatedly linked to Bishop is the Dallas Stars, and they still make sense, maybe now more than ever. The Stars have struggled so far and continue to get lackluster goaltending from Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Bishop would rectify their problem in a hurry. It's risky to take on a pending UFA, of course, but what if Dallas sent one back in the form of, say, Johnny Oduya? Tampa get its veteran D-man, Dallas gets its star goalie. Tampa would need to take back one of Niemi or Lehtonen and may have to include a second body for the money to work, but such a deal could still make sense, especially for two teams in different conferences.

Keeping Bishop all year would've been a best-case scenario for Yzerman, but he no longer has that luxury. The Bolts' bad luck has created a need for reinforcements right now. Dealing Bishop is the best way to save this team.

News

ECHL defenseman Anthony Calabrese is “lucky to be alive” after a “careless, reckless” hit, and Tyler Murovich, who delivered the blow, has been given a 12-game suspension as a first-time offender.

There are few plays scarier than seeing a player hit from behind and sent headfirst into the boards. That kind of play is made that much harder to watch when knowing the severity of the injury suffered.

During an ECHL contest on Nov. 24 between the Norfolk Admirals and Atlanta Gladiators, ECHL veteran Tyler Murovich delivered an incredibly dangerous shove to the back of Anthony Calabrese, a 24-year-old defenseman who’s only 12 games into his ECHL career.

The result of the hit was frightening. Calabrese was left laying face down on the ice, near motionless. The Admirals rearguard would eventually be placed on a stretcher, taken from the ice and transported to hospital.

That may seem harsh to some given that Murovich is a first-time offender, but given the severity of Calabrese’s injury, it actually seems like a somewhat light punishment.

As a result of the hit, Calabrese suffered broken C7 and T1 vertebrae. In simpler terms, he broke both his neck and his back. Oh, and he also punctured his lung. In fact, Calabrese told The Virginian-Pilot’s Jim Hodges that doctors told the young center that he’s “lucky to be alive.”

“It was a miracle, and they say I’m going to make a full recovery,” Calabrese told Hodges. “It’s going to be a long road, but I’d rather be alive than be in a wheelchair the rest of my life.”

What helped Calabrese escape with his life, he told Hodges, was advice he had gotten early in his career from a high school coach. Calabrese was taught that if he was ever going into the boards head first to lift his chin and turn to the side in an attempt to avoid taking the brunt of the impact with the top of his head.

“That’s honestly the only thing that registered in my mind when I was going in: at the last minute, pick my head up,” Calabrese told Hodges. “I remember picking my head up and turning it to the right.”

Thankfully, doctors told Calabrese that he can eventually return to the ice and that the injuries suffered from the hit won’t cost him his career. His spinal cord, he told Hodges, wasn’t damaged due to the hit. And, as hard as it may be to believe, doctors said it was the “best possible break” in a situation such as Calabrese’s.

News

The Rangers started the season as one of the league’s hottest teams, but have come back down to earth lately. Getting back on track will be a bit harder without the services of Rick Nash for the next week.

Another year, another ailment for Rick Nash, but luckily for the New York Rangers winger this one won’t be keeping him out of the lineup long-term.

Nash, 32, was forced to the leave the Rangers’ loss to the New York Islanders early on Tuesday, suffering a lower-body ailment that put him out of the game, and an MRI on Wednesday revealed that Nash will be sidelined for somewhere in the neighborhood of one week due to a groin injury.

Considering Nash was forced out of action due to the injury, that he’ll miss only one week is about as good as the news could be. Most Rangers fans would have thought the worst when Nash was forced to leave the game, especially given he missed nearly a quarter of the 2015-16 campaign due to a knee injury.

Being out for a week would force Nash, currently third on the Rangers in scoring behind J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes with 18 points, to miss anywhere from four to six games, depending when he’s feeling fit to return to action. Only one of those games are divisional games, which is a slight bonus, but the set of games against the Chicago Blackhawks is certainly a pair the Rangers could use Nash for, and getting by the New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets without Nash in the lineup is going to require someone else stepping up.

Nash is in the midst of quite the bounce back season, too. While it may be a far cry from his remarkable 2014-15 campaign in which he scored a career-best 42 goals to go along with 69 points, Nash has already potted 11 goals this season and, prior to his injury, was on pace for another 30-goal campaign.

Even if Nash reaches the 20-goal mark this season, though, it would be a step up from his past campaign. He managed only 15 goals and 36 points in 2015-16, making for the lowest full-season goal total of his career.

Nash isn’t the only injury concern for the Rangers right now, however. New York will also be without Matt Puempel for the foreseeable future due to a concussion and Mika Zibanejad’s broken fibula will likely keep him out of action for at least another month, if not more.

The Rangers, who started the season as one of the league’s hottest teams, are just 4-5-1 in their past 10 games.